GC powerlifter attempts world record

In sports, and life in general, everyone makes a list of goals they try to attain. Football players want to win the Super Bowl. Basketball players desire to play in the NBA and powerlifters seek to smash personal and world records.

Messenger photo by Dedra Cordle

David Hoff, a 2006 graduate of Grove City High School, set out to break a world record. On June 23 he competed in the American Powerlifting Federation Amateur American Powerlifting meet at Lexen Xtreme. Here he is trying to break the world record for his age group and squat a whopping 1,000 pounds.

That was the case as the owners of Lexen Xtreme raised their batting nets and transformed their training facility into a pre-qualifying event for the Cincinnati Pro-Am competition to be held on August 18 and 19. Approximately 50 male and female powerlifters throughout the United States descended upon the Grove City gym to qualify and attempt to break world records.

One such lifter was David Hoff, a 2006 graduate of Grove City High School. Hoff’s goal for the American Powerlifting Federation Amateur American Powerlifting meet was to set a world record by squatting 1,000 pounds for his age group. However, things did not exactly go as planned for the 19-year-old.

"Going into the meet, I was really confident that I could do it," said Hoff. "But sometimes your mind says one thing, and your body says another. With powerlifting, you have good days and bad days. This wasn’t such a good day."

His "bad powerlifting day" consisted of benching 590 pounds, setting a personal record in the deadlift at 705 pounds and squatting 930 pounds. Hoff said his sport is not all about the numbers you lift.

"That’s what powerlifting does to you. It’s not just about personal gain. It builds your character up and if you have a bad meet, you try to pull something out of it."

He still has at least one more shot left at squatting 1,000 pounds and breaking the record before turning 20, which happens on December 25, so it’s back to the training facility for Hoff. One wonders how that works though. Since he successfully squatted 930 pounds at the Lexen meet, does he just add weight on until it reaches the mark of half a ton.

"We have a developed method of how we train," explained Hoff. "We do weeks of certain methods which work different parts, and we never do the same exercises twice in a month. As Louie says, you have to keep the body guessing so it gets stronger."

Louie Simmons is the owner of Westside Barbell, an exclusive, invite only powerlifting facility where Hoff (and famous lifter Chuck Vogelpohl) train. So what does the owner of the gym have to say about Hoff and his record breaking quest?

"He’s very strong for someone his age," said Simmons. "Since he’s so young, he has a very high amount of potential."

Let’s just hope that potential fulfills Hoff’s goal of becoming the first 19-year-old to squat 1,000 pounds before Christmas.